Re: [docbook-apps] Re: Request For Clarification: Indexterm processing in auto-index generation.

["Bob Stayton" <bobs@sagehill.net>]

Including the section titles should be made optional, if they are included 
at all.  While they provide some context for selecting a reference, we don't 
use them in PDF indexes, and they clutter up the index considerably.  Once 
you accept references to point destinations, the original reason for using 
section titles is moot.

Using just the numbers would make the index look more similar to a standard 
printed index.  In print:

Term, 3, 5, 10, 22, 104, 108, 223

In HTML:

Term, [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6],. [7]

(and I would display the square brackets to make the clickable thing a bit 
bigger.  Clicking on "1" requires careful mouse positioning.).

As with a print index, if you have too many undifferentiated references for 
a single term, then the author should get to work to improve both index 
outputs by adding secondary elements to provide more context.

Bob Stayton
Sagehill Enterprises
bobs@sagehill.net


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Norman Walsh" <ndw@nwalsh.com>
To: <docbook-apps@lists.oasis-open.org>
Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2008 8:52 AM
Subject: [docbook-apps] Re: Request For Clarification: Indexterm processing 
in auto-index generation.

Ok, then maybe the answer is to just always use the numbers:

Term, in section title, [1], in other section title, [1], [2],
      in third section title, [1], [2], [3], in fourth title [1]

The section titles give the reader a clue about where the links occur,
the numbers link to the actual spot where the indexterm occurs.

Or maybe I should just get over it and go with simple numbers like the
CSS example :-/